A Pool House Is A Second Home Near The Water

CENTRAL FLORIDA POOL GUIDE

March 6, 2005|By Carrie Alexander, Sentinel Staff Writer

The alluring aura of Florida sunshine, a sparkling pool and a nearly year-round temperate climate create the foundation for outdoor living. A pool house can accentuate this lifestyle by providing a variety of functions.

A pool house, also known as a cabana, makes a convenient addition to a home's landscape because it can keep swimmers from tracking water through the main house and can offer storage for pool gear. The pool house also can serve as a focal point in a backyard setting and as a staging area for entertaining. But uses don't end there.

Pool houses designed by Winter Park builder Charlie Clayton and Clermont builder Paul Fallman reveal some of the possibilities.

NEW LIFE FOR A GAZEBO

At a historic 1926 home in Winter Park, Clayton was asked to transform a gazebo into a space that could function as a pool house without marring the original structure. Paul Pistulka, CEO for Charles Clayton Construction, says the homeowners wanted to maintain the original integrity of the gazebo where, rumor has it, former owners once entertained President Harry Truman.

Clayton gave the gazebo new life by enclosing space on one side where the homeowners could store pool equipment. Bathroom facilities were tucked into a space between the two closets, and an outdoor shower was added to the back of the six-sided structure. The main part of the structure was left open to offer views of Lake Osceola.

An existing structure often can be converted into a pool house without too much fanfare, says Pistulka. But whether you're building from scratch or retrofitting a pool house, there are several considerations. If you plan to build, is your lot large enough to accommodate a pool and a pool house? Many lots today are not. Also, homeowners need to check zoning and building requirements, as well as any homeowners association rules.

Before deciding on a design, homeowners should decide what purpose the pool house will serve. That purpose will dictate the size needed. A structure used only as a changing room can be much smaller than one that also will be used for guests.

Pool-house plans in varying sizes are available through mail-order companies such as Cabana Village in Wilmington, Del., but many builders will design and construct a pool house along with the house.

A DOUBLE FEATURE

At a new home in Alaqua Lakes in Seminole County, Clayton recently built two pool houses for the homeowners who wanted separate functions. An enclosed pool house houses a tanning booth, a massage table, bathroom facilities and exercise equipment.

The interior features an Asian influence with its sleek lines and slatted mahogany pocket doors. The dark window trim frames neutral walls, creating a tone that is luxurious but subdued and serene.

The homeowner wanted a spa atmosphere, says Angela Brooks of Brooks Interior Design, who was the interior designer on the project.

The view out to the back of the building draws the eye toward a water feature that serves as a focal point for an enclosed outside shower "large enough to tan in if they want," says Brooks. The waterfall runs vertically from the top of the shower to the travertine floor. A sheet of water arcs over a bed of ebony Mexican pebbles that an artist carefully placed by hand.

A second structure built on the same property serves as an open-air entertaining space with kitchen facilities. A rich array of designs and materials are used to link the two buildings with the pool and spa. The spa, for example, was designed with mosaic tiles in a diamond pattern and the same mosaic detail was used on the kitchen's backsplash. Travertine, used in the outdoor shower, makes an appearance on the kitchen's countertops. Cypress accents such as beams on the roof of the summer kitchen and over a trellis also visually connect the two structures.

A MULTIPURPOSE MEDLEY

A pool house can be as simple or luxurious as a homeowner chooses.

Builder Fallman is creating a new take on a pool house -- one without a pool. Instead, the homeowners, who live on Lake Louisa just south of Clermont, want a building that will act as a pool house, but their "pool" will be the lake.

The two-story building will serve many purposes. First, it will be a place to change into and out of swimwear because, Fallman says, they swim in the lake.

Also, the downstairs space will offer a kitchen, a half-bath and open living space. "They plan to entertain there," Fallman says.

The upstairs will serve a third purpose. The homeowners are planning office space that will allow them to work at home.

The pool house is being built to complement the design of the main house and to offer a connection to the lake, Fallman says. The design will make use of generous doors and windows that, he says, "will be opened up to catch the breeze off the lake."

It's important that the design of the pool house relate to its surroundings, Fallman says.